Car Features

Rusty Gillis' Immaculate '68 Mustang

Words: Tommy Parry Images: Rusty Gillis

Rusty Gillis started building his 1968 Mustang by adding Rod & Custom coilovers at both ends and observing a worrying amount of rust throughout the floor. Not daunted by the incredible corrosion, he chopped, welded, stripped and epoxy-primed the underside. After that came a pair of subframe connectors, a little bodywork, another coat of epoxy primer and, finally, a coat of SPI bedliner. With his son, Brian, doing the fabrication and welding along with taping, wet sanding and buffing, Rusty could focus on the fiberglass work, bodywork, block sanding, priming and painting.

Next, Rusty installed the Rod & Custom rear suspension kit - one of the earlier ones, which happened to be a bolt-in. Nevertheless, he decided to weld in the rear crossmember for a little added peace of mind. For a dependable steering feel and a snappier front, the Rod & Custom front end would do. Lastly, he installed a Ford 9” from a ‘63 Galaxie after Rusty narrowed it 2” to fit the Mustang’s haunches.

With the suspension settled, Rusty turned his attention to the Mustang’s body. After crafting his own fender flares, he coated the car in primer, did away with the drip rails and bonded on the Shelby conversion end caps. After a few sweaty hours sanding and applying a coat of primer, he had something resembling a Mustang undergoing an expensive restoration.

Next: the front end. After fitting the headlight buckets, Rusty attached the fiberglass front apron came from Maier Racing. The front spoiler, which clearly had a dramatic shape intended for making downforce, did not fit the fenders, so he had to do a lot of fiberglass work to get it to bolt on and look the way he wanted it to.

A change of heart: Rusty went from the Shelby tails to the deluxe tails, and finally to an original light setup. With all the hacking and chopping the indecision entailed, he had to use a new tailpan and a set of custom brackets fashioned by Brian. Lastly, Rusty closed the gaps and extended the bumper to meet the end caps.

The amount of time on the bodywork and paint added up, and in interests of frugality, Rusty chose to install a 4.6-liter and an AOD gearbox out of a ‘96 Thunderbird, supported by Ron Morris fuel pump, sending unit and lines, as well as a Ron Francis wiring harness mounted behind the rear seat.

Though he wouldn’t have quite the power he anticipated, the lightweight, compact motor fit comfortably in the bay. For some extra punch, he added a Ron Morris EFI and a set of headers; one Flowtech unit from a ‘96 Mustang on the right side, and custom header - made from 1 ⅝” tubing - on the other side, shaped to clear the steering.

The red calipers from the Baer big brake kit match the car beautifully.

A Momo wheel, Dakota Digital gauges and a layer of Dynamat Gave the interior some glitz - and with the abundance of bedliner present everywhere else in the car, it’s plenty cushy for long hauls.

Even in its incomplete state, Rusty took his creation to an abundance of car shows, where he was consistently well-received. A stunning piece of craftsmanship with immaculate paint and enviable lines, this build is one of the prettiest around. It isn’t quite over - but once it is, it’ll turn heads wherever it goes.